Salman Khan’s Wax Figure to be Unveiled at Madame Tussauds New York

The famous wax museum, Madame Tussauds, in New York will be unveiling Bollywood actor Salman Khan's wax statue on August 2.

The actor's wax figure will join the likes of Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan's statue at the Madame Tussauds museum on Thursday.

In 2008, Salman's statue was placed at London's Madame Tussauds, making him the fourth Indian actor to have wax statue there.

Salman Khan, who has acted in more than 80 films, achieved stardom in 1989 with his award-performance in "Maine Pyar Kiya". People Magazine in 2004 has named him the seventh best-looking man in the world.

"Salman Khan is one of Bollywood's most enduring and recognizable stars," said Bret Pidgeon, general manager of Madame Tussauds New York. "Bollywood exploded on the American pop culture scene several years ago and has become one of our most exciting entertainment categories."

The brightly coloured Bollywood Zone of New York's museum includes a replica of Muslim art "Taj Mahal". The museum also includes videos of authentic Indian dancers and a photo area where visitors can pose with their favourite Bollywood stars.

According to the official website, Madame Tussauds plans to expand the area to include other famous Bollywood stars in the future.

Salman Khan's wax figure was installed after requests from numerous visitors. His statue was created on loan for three months from Madame Tussauds London and was launched in January 2008, after beating nine other Indian celebrities including Madhuri Dixit, Hrithik Roshan, Lata Mangeshkar and Abhishek Bachchan to choose the "Next Bollywood Star" to bet waxed, the official website reported.

Over 10, 000 people voted for the "Next Bollywood Star" in Aug. 2007.  

For his statue, Khan personally chose and contributed his black top and denim jeans.